Google Reader is the new "Video Games"

I has been using...check that...relying on Google Reader for my rss collection for a month or so. I don't know if I am late to the game or what but I am still amazed how many people I talk to have never heard of RSS feeds or use readers.

...and in someways I think that may be a good thing.

I noticed something today.......while I read all the content I collect (close to 40 sites now) and am smarter for it, I am reading the content exclusively from my reader and am not visiting the sites anymore. This "robs" me of not only the experience of "experiencing" these sites (design and function etc) but also blocks me out of enjoying the comments etc.

So how does this make readers "the new video game"?

Ok I admit this may be a bit of a stretch but after spending the better part of a decade in the comic book publishing industry I had to listen to hundreds of people say "Kids don't read comics because they are all playing video games" (something I never agreed with because I think kids are out of the habit of reading because as a culture we no longer stress the importance...and to say kids don't read is silly because they are reading plenty of online content). Maybe I should replace "Video Games" with fast food because readers give you the "Drive Thru" versions of your favorite sites.

Will readers eventually make web design obsolete?

I doubt it but I do think people will learn to make their rss feeds more "dynamic".....(this is not a smooth transition but I am tired so cut me some slack) ........I agree that content is KING but there is something to be said about packaging. Maybe this post is more of a comment on how technology is moving forward to make our lives more convenient then perhaps we need.

(after re-reading that last paragraph I realized I must sound like the bizarro world Nicholas Negroponte)

Since I am waxing poetically about all of this I have vowed to not use my reader for a whole weekend. I am going to surf the interweb the ol' fashioned way..............heck while I am at it I am even going to get off the couch to change the channels and turn off the set when I am done :)

-saul